Btjry



F. C. OVERBURY.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR MAKING PREPARED ROOFI'NG ELEMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.2s. |911.

'1 ,3 14,477 Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

g f3 "f i2 i 1w Esi:

f@ www@ I ing is difficult to cut easily,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK C. OVERBURY, 0F HILLSDALE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THEFLINTKOTE COMPANY, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR MAKING PREPARED ROOFING ELEMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

.Application led December 28, 1917. Serial No. 209,229.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK C. OVER- BURY, a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, residing at Hillsdale, in the county of Bergen and State of NewJersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Methods and Meansfor Making Prepared Roofing Elements, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention has relation to the manufacture of prepared roofing inthe form of shingle strips, `so-called, which consist of slabs or stripshaving spaced tabs or projections, which are exposed when the strips arelaid in overlapping rows, and present the appearance of shingles, tilesor slates. Such prepared roofing consists of a foundation sheet offibrous material, usually rag felt, which is porous and absorbent, andwhich is saturated or impregnated with a relatively lovvr melting-pointasphalt or other hydrocarbon to make the sheet waterproof, and coatedwith a layer of a relatively high-melting-point pitch or asphalt, inwhich is artially embedded a surfacing material suoli as crushed tile,slate, granite, or other form of grit to give the roofing an ornamentalappearance in addition to increasing its capacity to withstand theaction of the elements and increasing its {ireproof and acidproofqualities.

Heretofore it has been the practice first to produce a sheet of roofingsuch as described, and then to form it into shingle strips by means ofcutting machines by which transverse slots are cut in the sheet, and thesheet is slit longitudinally as described in my Patent No. 908,125 or bywhich the sheet is severed transversely into shingle strips as describedin my Patent No. 1,182,416. While such a method of producingshingle-strips has been commercially successful, yet certaindifliculties have Lpresented themselves which militate against aneconomical and rapid production of the strips.

Saturated, coated and mineral-faced roofbecause the grit wears out theknives ve rapidly, especially those which are emplbyed for cutting theslots in the sheet, and because of the character of the4 saturating andcoating compounds, they tend to clog the dies or cutters especially whenmixed with the grit. Moreover the waste pieces, which are cut from thesheet in forming the slots therein, cannot easily be utilized because ofthe embedment therein of the crushed mineral or grit.

The present invention has for its object to remedy and overcome thefaults and difficulties which have heretofore inured to the method ofmanufacture hereinbefore briefly described. This is accomplished,briefly speaking, by forming the slots in the sheet before it is coatedand surfaced, and then after the sheet has been coated and surfacedcutting it into strips. In this way, the slotting is accomplishedWithout permitting the knives to come into contact-with the grit, andthe Waste pieces may be treated to reclaim the saturating compounds andthe felt without having any grit admixed therewith. A further beneficialresult is secured in that the coating covers the cut edges or walls ofthe slots and increases to some extent the thickness thereof, andenables the walls of the slots to be surfaced with the grit, whereby theexposed portions of the strip appear to be relatively thicker and moremassive.

On the accompanying drawing,-

Figure 1 represents, conventionally, apparatus for the practice of 'myinvention.

Fig. 2 illustrates the sheet during the course of its manufacture intoshingle strips.

Fig. 3 represents a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 on a larger scale.

S0 far as the details of manufacture are concerned, it is quiteimmaterial whether the resultant shingle strips are cut cross- Wise ofthe sheet, as illustrated in my Patent No. 1,150,298, dated August 17,1915, or whether they are cut lengthwise of the sheet as shown in mysaid Patent No. 908,125. In either case, the slotting .is accomplishedbefore the coating compound and the surfacing grit are applied to thesheet. On the drawing I have shown the lnstrumentalities for forming thecross-cut shingle strips, but I donot thereby intend to exclude the useof instrumentalities for forming the length-cut strips.

The sheet of felt or other equivalent porous, absorbent, fibrousmaterial is shown as being drawn from a roll 10, whence it is passedthrough-the saturation vat 11 in whlch s contained molten low-meltingPatentednug. 26, 1919.

point asphalt or otherl suitable hydrocarbon compound, kept in liquidcondition by any p means such as steam coilsV j 12. After passingthrough the squeeze rolls suitable heatin 13, by which all of the excesssaturating compounds is removed from the sheet, leaving it comparativelydry, the sheet is passed around drums 14 which are supplied with acooling or refrigerating medium for chilling the sheet and setting thecompound.' Preferably the sheet is chilled to a temperature at which thesaturating compound is relatively hard. From the chilling rolls thesheet is now conducted to a slotting machineindcated as a whole at 15,and which comprises feed rolls '16, and slotting rolls 17, 18. Thismachine maybe with convenience constructed substantially as shown anddescribed in the `patent to Gerry G. Gardner, No. 1,191,297, dated July18, 1916, to permit the escape of the waste pieces (formed by the diesin cutting the slots) from the lower roll, in which event it will bealso provided with knives for slitting the sheet lengthwise through theslots. As shown, however, the' roll 17 has a plurality e of dies orcutters for coperation with recesses in the roll 18 to cut a transverserow of longitudinal slots in the sheet at intervals along the lengththereof, and the waste pieces delivered from the lower roll aredelivered by a chute 19 to a basket or receptacle y20. In Fig. 2 the rawfelt sheet is indicated at a, and the saturated portion is indicated atb. The longitudinal slots therein, are indicated at c. The number of theslots will vary in accordance with the width of the sheet, and thelength and width and spacing of the tabs or projections on the finishedshingle strip. For example, the slots intermediate the edges of thesheet may be one-half inch in width and nine inches in length and spacedlaterally apart six' inches, and the slots in the edges may' beone-quarter inch. Of course these proportions -are varied according tocircumstances, and the slots are spaced longitudinally of the sheetaccording to the desired width of the several shingle strips.

After lleaving 'the slotting machine, the saturated and slotted .sheetis now coated with a weatherproof compound of highmelting-point pitch orasphalt by passing it between carefully .adjusted rolls 21, 22, whichpreferably are steam-heated. The molten pitch or asphalt is deliveredupon the sheet by a spout 23 at a point close to the nip of the rolls,the sheet passing over a stationary table or plate 124 to preventl the-pitch from pouring through the slots. Any pitch or asphalt whichescapes through the slots in the lower roll as the sheet is fed through'the rolls may be scraped therefrom by a scraper 24 and delivered to atank 25 for re-use. The scraper 2'4 and the tank 25 may both besteamheated, if desired. In Fig. 2, the coated' portion of the sheet isindicated at d.

While the coating is in a plastic condition, the sheet isy passedbeneath a hopper 26 containing crushed or flaked slate, tlle,

brick, granite, or other mineral, and a` thin stream` of the grit isdeposited upon the coating. The l grit which fallsthrough the slots isdeiiected by a chute 27 into a re? ceptacle 28 for re-use. The sheet isnow carried over a roll 29 and under rolls 30,-

pressure rolls `33, 33. After the grit has been` embedded in theplasticcoating, it is desirable that the sheet should be cooled to permit thecoating to harden and set before it is severed into shin le strips. Anysuitable cooling means may employed for this purpose, but I haveillustrated conventionally at 34 a festooning mechanism for thispurpose. From this mechanism the sheet is delivered to the strip-cuttingmaf chine which is provided with feed rolls 35, and Acutters comprisinga stationary shear blade 36 and an associated chopping blade 37. Thechopper 37 is rotated at such a rate of speed in relation to the speedof travel of the sheet, that the sheet is severed on straighttransverselines e--e and f-f, the cut e-e being midway between the endsof each row of slots, and the cut f--f being midway between two adjacentrows of slots. As a result of the slotting and the transverse severanceof the end of the sheet, there are rapidly produced dupli'te shinglestrips,

each having one straight longitudinal edge, and on the other edge aplurality of spaced tabs or projections, which, when lthe strips arelaid in overlapping relation on a roof, present the appearance ofshingles or tiles. In Fig. 3 I have shown on a larger scale a sectionthrough 'one of lthe shingle strips By the practice of the process asherein described, I am able to effect a saving in the coating compoundand the grit in the production of the roofing. I make it possible toreclaim the saturating compound in' sheet, but I refer thereto once moreto point v out that the particular arrangement of the slots isimmaterial so long asthey are so formed that, when the sheet 1seventually severed, each shingle strip has a plurality of spaced tabs orprojections.

What I claim is: 1. A method of making shlngle strips,

I which consists in saturating a sheet of felt lals with a hydrocarboncompound, then forming slots in said saturated sheet, then applying theplastic coating upon the slotted sheet, and severing said sheet in linestransverse tothe slots to form shingle strips.

2. A method of making shingle strips, which consists in saturating asheet of felt with a hydrocarbon compound, forming slots in thesaturated sheet, applying a plastic coating to said slotted sheet,applying a layer of grit to the coated sheet, and severing the sheetinto shingle strips of predetermined lengths and widths, each having aplurality of tabs or projections.

3. A method of making shingle strips, which consists in formingtransverse rows of longitudinal slots in said sheet, coating the slottedsheet with an asphaltic plastic compound, embedding grit in theasphaltic coating,. and severing the sheet transversely of the slotsinto shingle strips of predetermined length and width.

4. In combination, the following instrumentalities, to Wit: means forsaturating a sheet of felt with a water-proofing compound, means forforming slots in said saturated sheet, means for applying a plasticcoating on said slotted sheet, and means for severing said sheet inlines transverse to said slots to form shingle strips.

5. In combination, the following instrumentalities, to wit: means forsaturating a. sheet of felt with a water-proofing compound, means forforming slots in said saturated sheet, means for applying a plasticcoating on said slotted sheet, meansl for applying a layer of grit tothe coating on said sheet, and means for severing said sheet in linestransverse to said slots to form shingle strips each having a pluralityof tabs or projections.

6. In combination, the following instrumentalities, to wit: means forsuccessively forming transverse rows of longitudinal slots in a sheet ofroofing material, means for coating said slotted sheet with a plasticasphaltic compound, means for applying a layer of grit to said coatedsheet, and means for severing said sheets transversely of said slotsinto shingle strips of predetermined length and width.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

FREDERICK o. ovERBURY.

